Mcdougal Knows Fsu-irish Game Has Real Meaning

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

November 10, 1994|CRAIG BARNES On College Football

There are those who say Saturday's Florida State-Notre Dame doesn't mean much, but Kevin McDougal, who quarterbacked the Fighting Irish to a 31-24 victory in last season's "Game of the Century," says they're wrong.

"If for no other reason, it will mean a lot because of last year's game," said McDougal, who graduated from Ely High School and earned his business management degree from Notre Dame.

"I don't know how people could have asked for anything more [in 1993). Nos. 1 and 2 playing late in the season, and the game wasn't decided until the final play. People expected it to be one of the greatest college games ever, and it was. They will expect the same thing this year, but it'll be hard to match."

Even McDougal was overcome by the drama as Florida State quarterback and eventual Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward was driving the Seminoles toward a possible winning touchdown in the final minute.

"I couldn't stand to watch," McDougal said. "I just hoped he wouldn't get it in. I was holding my breath, and I wasn't alone. Players, coaches, fans in the stadium and the ones watching on television were just like me."

Florida State (7-1) needs a victory in Orlando to stay in the hunt for the national championship, and Notre Dame (5-3) needs a win to give a disappointing season some meaning.

The stakes are high, but the hype isn't.

"There's no way to explain what playing in a game of that magnitude is like," McDougal said. "It's like a dream. It's like a Super Bowl. The coaches and others tried to play it down as just another game, but there was no way that was just another game."

McDougal had a phone call from high school buddies Tyrant Marion, and Zack and Henri Crockett two nights before the game. "I knew if we lost, I'd never live it down," McDougal said. "I can live with what happened. They won the national championship but lost to us. A game like that takes so much out of a team. We thought people would just fall down for us. Boston College didn't and that loss [41-39) cost us the national championship."

Many doubted McDougal last season, but he never doubted himself. He also understood the quarterback's job.

"The team is a reflection of the quarterback," he said. "After Florida State jumped ahead 7-0, I remember telling our guys to relax and not panic. I told them if we did our jobs, we would win."

McDougal completed 9 of 18 passes for 108 yards, and the Fighting Irish ran for 239 yards and four touchdowns.

McDougal, who signed with the Los Angeles Rams as a free agent, had little opportunity because of big-salaried players Chris Miller, Chris Chandler and Tommy Maddox. He was eventually released and is playing for Winnipeg in the Canadian Football League.

The 1993 Florida State game ranks just ahead of Notre Dame's 27-23 early season win over Michigan in McDougal's mind.

"If you were fortunate enough to be a part of the Florida State game on either team, there's no way to forget it," McDougal said. "It was an experience that gave me confidence I would do well in football and life."

It was one of those rare moments, the kind everybody wants in life but few get to have, "and that's why I feel fortunate to gone through it," McDougal said.

Less pressure on coast When Bryce Erickson left the University of Miami this summer, he chose Chaffey Community College in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.

It was about as far away from the spotlight of Hurricance football, where his father is the coach, as he could get.

"I wanted to make it easier on myself, my father and my family," Erickson said. "I have the responsibility for growing up and that's good. Being out of the spotlight and my father's shadow has made it easier."

Erickson, a quarterback at Palmetto High School in 1992, signed with the Hurricanes despite criticism. He was redshirted in 1993 and involved in a controversy at the 1994 Fiesta Bowl.

"During spring practice, I added weight, arm strength and held my own," Erickson said, "but I didn't get the job done in the classroom so my improvement meant nothing. I let myself and my father down."

Erickson is playing for Carl Ferrill, who was an assistant under Dennis Erickson at Idaho in the 1970s. Chaffey is 6-2. Erickson was moved to wide receiver early because of severe tendinitis in his right elbow and shoulder. He has 22 receptions for 322 yards (14.6 yards per catch) and four touchdowns.

"The school is about the size of a high school, but the town takes the football serious," Erickson said. "I'm happy. I just miss my family and the Hurricane players who were like family."

Erickson wants to come back to Miami, but Division I-A football isn't on his mind.

"We'll have to see what happens, but I doubt if I'll play for the Hurricanes again," Erickson said. "Right now, I'm concerned about more important things. I want to get a degree in business and move on with my life."